Falls of the Hinterlands anima

you wanted a war and now it's done. except it isn't.

i wan'ned her dead! Avicus snaps back, irked both at his retorts and that he hadn't answered her question directly. by me! an' now her daugh'her gone, and who knowhh. . .

she could come back. she will be back; Avicus knows it. and next time, it might be someone closer to her heart. her warriors, her children, Ashlar—

d'you wan' me?! she asks again, more pointedly. i don' wanh' you if you—if you come beg for me. or if you 'hhink i'm angry if you don'.

it's the most nuanced argument she's ever constructed, and it surprises even her. but here spills the blood from the deepest recesses of her heart, the thoughts she's locked away for fear they'd consume her and drag her into the weakness, the feelings that made Ashlar who he is.

i wanh' you if you wanh' me. she shuts her mouth at that, gritting her teeth again.